LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
Several NC State players met with the media following the Wolfpack's 34-23 victory over Ball State Saturday evening.
NOTE: Click the specific video above to watch a player interview.
Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Thayer Thomas
“It’s sort of crazy. Last year was my first year punt-returning, so I wanted to take the next step and actually return one for a touchdown this year. The funny thing is my friend texted me before the West Virginia game that, ‘You’re going to score your first receiving touchdown in this game,’ and he texted me before this game and said I was going to take one back to the house. I thought that was pretty crazy.”
“The punter did an unusual kick. He sort of rugby-kicked it. He never did that on film. It was low and didn’t have a lot of hang time, so I knew I had the opportunity to return it. When I went left, I didn’t see anything, so I tried to go back to the field. The funny thing is we only had 10 guys on the field at the time. We didn’t even have 11 guys out there, so it was pretty crazy.”
“I knew once I got around the first wall when I got back to the middle. I could have either gone left or right, so I chose right. I felt like that was the best way. I was looking at myself in the [jumbotron], and nobody was really around, so I was like, ‘Okay, I got this.’”
Junior Wide Receiver Emeka Emezie
“I ran a dig, and I saw the ball come up a little different, so I tried to adjust to stop the ball quickly. Then I put my hand up and made the catch.”
“I think it’s just players executing. I’ve got to execute that better. There were a lot of plays left out there. We going to be good.”
“The mindset, especially with the lefties, is a lot different. You’ve got to get your mind ready either way for whoever comes in.”
“He stays locked in no matter what happens. If he gets taken out or if he’s in, he’s locked in. It’s huge for him to be able be taken out and come back in with the same energy.”
Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Matthew McKay
“I thought we came out strong and put points on the board. We couldn’t stay on the field in the second half, so that’s definitely an area, especially [considering] last week, that we must improve on. Going into this next week, we’re going to focus on coming out in the third quarter strong and putting points on the board.”
“Very motivated. I was always motivated throughout the whole game coming off of the loss. We just couldn’t stay on the field in the second half. I was trying to put the ball where I had to, but as a whole, we couldn’t execute.”
“Pretty frustrating. When we get the ball to start the second half, we want to start strong and set the tone. But we didn’t do that, so we’ve just got to work on that.”
Sophomore Safety Tanner Ingle
“Toward the latter half of the game, I was getting gassed; I’m not going to lie. Coach Thunder does a great job with us with conditioning over the summer, so we’re built for situations like that.”
“Yeah, most definitely. Weeks before, he was throwing the ball 40 times a game, so we know that’s what we were expecting coming into it.”
“Defensively, we played okay. There’s a lot of stuff we need to fix. Twenty-six points, that’s not to our standard whatsoever. They ran the ball better than what they needed to. They threw the ball a lot better than what they needed to. Overall, we played all right, but we have a lot of kinks to fix.”
Graduate Student Defensive Tackle Larrell Murchison
“Focusing on moving from what didn’t work last week. Just getting better, taking that one step that we needed to from film from last week, and getting better. That’s what we did: capitalizing on opportunities, watching film this week to see what their tendencies were, and applying them in the game.”
“We love it. Our adrenaline was up, but we just kept it going. The adrenaline is pumping, so after the game, we’ll feel it.”
“It’s just like anybody. Whether you have a hard-nosed run or you throw the ball, we’re ready. We’re prepared for anything. Anybody they put on film, we’re going to prepare for them the same way."